MattJakobs Build Thread-2001 Stellar Blue Pearl

[MattJakobs]

Snow Day

Got some snow and played in it with [MENTION=80933]4x4runner2002[/MENTION] all day.
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[MattJakobs]

Couple things going on with the 4Runner that are worth sharing.

Went through inspection and failed, but no surprise there. Got it mostly legal, all I need to do is add a front sway bar. I’m not running either but they only docked me for the front so that’s kind of nice.

Picked up 2 Stealth Custom Series wheels. They’re 17x8.5 Stealth 6s in gunmetal. Used from a buddy, only paid $100 for them though so no complaining there. I’ll pick up the other 3 when their in stock(going to be running a full size spare) and some 285/75/17’s when these tires wear out.

Looking at doing a seat swap sometime in the near future. Have a couple ideas on seats I want to get so hopefully that’ll happen before too long.

And I took my rear brakes apart this afternoon just to paint the drums after this last snow/salt fest we’ve had. My pads are pretty warm and my drums aren’t in the best condition. I’m going to start collecting some parts for a rear disc break conversion and hopefully have that knocked out by summer.

No pictures of anything unfortunately as I didn’t have my camera with me but I’ll mock up the SCSs sometime soon and get some pictures.

 

[Unner]

Planning to keep the emergency brake with the rear discs?

 

[Brandon966]

Love the snow pics

 

[MattJakobs]

Planning to keep the emergency brake with the rear discs?

Yeah, I'll need to because of Virginia State inspections. Doesn't look like it's that much more work to keep it and Zach kept his E-brake when he did his so that should make everything go much smoother.

Love the snow pics

Thanks man!

 

[Flemster]

Dude your light setup is super clean. I really like the color of those amber pods. Looking sleek. Also love the pictures man.

 

[MattJakobs]

Dude your light setup is super clean. I really like the color of those amber pods. Looking sleek. Also love the pictures man.

Thanks Alex. The amber is so nice for foggy/rainy days and on the snow. When I turned the side shooters on in the snow, everything was just too bright. The amber still gave a ton of light while keeping it from being as harsh on the eyes. Finally think I'm done with adding different lights and I'm happy with the set up I've got now.






In other news, I ordered a few miscellaneous maintenance items. Most importantly, Rear Axle Seal O-Ring (x2) 90301-88077 and Real Axle Seal, Type-S Oil (x3) 90310-50006. My rear axle seals are still good but figure I might as well switch them out while I'm in there and it's so cheap to do.
The local junk yard also has a fair amount of Mustangs in of the years I need for rear calipers. Heading there this weekend hopefully to try and start the official parts list. The calipers are the only used part I'll be doing. New rotors, pads, brake lines, and whatever else there may be. Thinking the rear calipers are getting painted red to match the front and look fast.

 

[Unner]

Thanks Alex. The amber is so nice for foggy/rainy days and on the snow. When I turned the side shooters on in the snow, everything was just too bright. The amber still gave a ton of light while keeping it from being as harsh on the eyes. Finally think I'm done with adding different lights and I'm happy with the set up I've got now.






In other news, I ordered a few miscellaneous maintenance items. Most importantly, Rear Axle Seal O-Ring (x2) 90301-88077 and Real Axle Seal, Type-S Oil (x3) 90310-50006. My rear axle seals are still good but figure I might as well switch them out while I'm in there and it's so cheap to do.
The local junk yard also has a fair amount of Mustangs in of the years I need for rear calipers. Heading there this weekend hopefully to try and start the official parts list. The calipers are the only used part I'll be doing. New rotors, pads, brake lines, and whatever else there may be. Thinking the rear calipers are getting painted red to match the front and look fast.

Amber lights are great in fog/snow. I drove through the densest fog I've ever seen, in Oklahoma of all places. Stuff was so thick I was going maybe 30ish on the interstate at times. The amber lights definitely helped with visibility.

Looking forward to seeing how you do rear discs.

 

[MattJakobs]

Nothing big going on besides some maintenance items and inspection BS.
I pretty much fixed everything in order for me to pass inspection this year besides sway bars and naturally, I failed for them. The shop knows they're ever run in the first place so I was hoping to get lucky but not such. I finished putting them on this afternoon and I go for re-inspection tomorrow. I should pass now.
I was supposed to wheel at Rausch Creek up in Pennsylvania this past weekend but the nor'easter made the conditions less that desirable. I'll be heading to Wilmington, NC this weekend however so I wanted to get some maintenance done putting all those miles on.
What went on:
OEM Fuel Filter PN: 23300-62030
OEM Air Filter PN: 17801-07020
OEM Gas Cap PN: 77300-53010
OEM Oil-Cap O-ring PN: 90430-37140
I also ordered some rear axle seals and picked up some rear mustang calipers for a rear disc brake conversion. All of that will be going on this summer though.
I'm also going to order quite a bit more of some maintenance items just to keep everything running happy.
Also put some new Bosch Icon wiper blades on. My old ones were pretty toast and I'm so far impressed with these.

 

[theesotericone]

Nothing big going on besides some maintenance items

OEM Gas Cap PN: 77300-53010
OEM Oil-Cap O-ring PN: 90430-37140

Thanks man. That was perfect timing. My oil cap o-ring is beyond flat and I've been clearing a P0440 for a few months. I knew if I just hung on a little longer someone on this forum would post up the part numbers for my lazy ass. Amazon's gonna have them here Friday. lol

How was that N'easter that rolled through? They can be hit or miss but when there a hit they can be nasty.

 

[MattJakobs]

Thanks man. That was perfect timing. My oil cap o-ring is beyond flat and I've been clearing a P0440 for a few months. I knew if I just hung on a little longer someone on this forum would post up the part numbers for my lazy ass. Amazon's gonna have them here Friday. lol

How was that N'easter that rolled through? They can be hit or miss but when there a hit they can be nasty.

I was running the same thing and kept clearing it on my scangauge. Seem to be so far so good with the help of these two. I was able to pull the existing o-ring on the oil cap apart after replacing it and my gas cap wasn't pressuring anything since that o-ring was completely flat too so hope it does the trick with you.

My area didn't get hit with anything too serious. Some heavy winds but no crazy rain or snow fall. The Outer Banks, which is south of me, got hit really. Their sand dunes are next to gone and the ocean water is running across the highway. North of me got hit pretty hard too, and I think they're going to get hit hard tomorrow as well. Was just north of Philadelphia yesterday and they're preparing for 6-12" of snow tomorrow.

 

[Road Bull]

Installed a Champion Radiator (Part No. CC1998) and new OEM upper and lower radiator hoses (Part No's. 16571-07030 and 16572-62070) this weekend before making the little wheeling trip. My original OEM radiator had started to leak at the top seal and my temperatures started to raise a couple degrees, especially at highway speeds or at idle. My one real stipulation to this weekends trip was this got done and it did. My temperatures all weekend looked great, right where I wanted them. When wheeling, my transmission temperature stayed below 155* and my coolant stayed between 184-190* for the majority of the time. About what I saw before my previous radiator started leaking. It should be noted that this radiator is a little bigger than the original radiator. I haven't had to add any transmission fluid but I did have to add a decent amount more of coolant. I was able to use the stock hardware as well, and didn't need the factory radiator brackets as the new radiator has them built in. I will be adding washers as well because the radiator does sit a little close to the member behind the grill and I want to space it out to rid of future rubbing.
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Overall, I'm excited about this install. The radiator looks great and has kept my temperatures where they should be. It's an all aluminum radiator so I shouldn't have any problems with the pink milkshake. I also chose not to bypass the radiator's transmission cooler and I kept my existing B&M transmission cooler.

Hey Matt! Sup!
[MENTION=28808]psraff[/MENTION] and I have been looking at radiator options from Champion. I was doing research and came across your post and remembered that you did this not long ago. Did the stock replacement, 4 Runner Radiator (96-02) give you any crap when installing? It looks like you might have added small plastic spacers between the back of the radiator and the stock fan shroud. Is that correct? And you said that the front looked a bit close to member behind the grill. Did you ever do that, or if not, how is it holding up. Or how is the radiator treating you overall? And is it true that stock radiator caps do not fit the Champion radiator?

 

[MattJakobs]

Hey Matt! Sup!

[MENTION=28808]psraff[/MENTION] and I have been looking at radiator options from Champion. I was doing research and came across your post and remembered that you did this not long ago. Did the stock replacement, 4 Runner Radiator (96-02) give you any crap when installing? It looks like you might have added small plastic spacers between the back of the radiator and the stock fan shroud. Is that correct? And you said that the front looked a bit close to member behind the grill. Did you ever do that, or if not, how is it holding up. Or how is the radiator treating you overall? And is it true that stock radiator caps do not fit the Champion radiator?

What's going on Ryder?

So far so good on the Radiator. I've daily driven it plenty since, and wheeled with it now. Both my transmission and coolant temperatures have stayed low and within my comfort zone.
Fitment was about what you would expect for an aftermarket replacement. It wasn't absolutely perfect but it was pretty damn close. The 'hook like' mounting brackets that are bolted to your factory radiator are built into this radiator and they are aluminum so they are easy to manipulate to get them into the stock holes on the front cross support. Not sure if this makes too much sense but I can try and capture some pictures this weekend.
I did not need to add any spacers between the fan shroud and the radiator. That part bolted up seamlessly.
The only place where spacers are possibly needed is at the top of the radiator where it makes a little bit of contact with the upper cross section that runs on the inside of the headlights. Again, I can get more pictures of what I mean this weekend to make more sense.
It is true, the factory radiator caps do not work with the Champion Radiator. I've been meaning to pick up another from Champion just as a back up but the quality of the cap is definitely there. It makes a tight seal, feels good, and it feels thinker than the OEM cap.
Overall, I would definitely get this radiator again. It's bigger, the fitment is pretty good, and it's all aluminum so I don't need to worry about replacing it. It doesn't have any noticeably better cooling power but does the job and it's nice not to worry about the pink milkshake. One thing to note is that you will need to add more coolant since the internals of this are bigger than stock.
Hope that answers your questions and feel free to hit me back with anymore. I plan on buttoning up some loose ends on the 4Runner this weekend so I'll make sure to grab some pictures on the fitment.

 

[Road Bull]

Thanks Matt! That's helpful information. And i am glad its still holding up fine. The rig is looking great by the way. I'll let you know if I think of any other questions. Thanks again brother.

 

[4x4runner2002]

This build is a bit stale needs some fresh wheeling pics...

 

[MattJakobs]

This build is a bit stale needs some fresh wheeling pics...

One could say the same about your build...

 

[catsponchovia]

Just read through most of your build. Pretty sweet and love what you've done to the truck! One of my favorite colors too!

 

[4x4runner2002]

One could say the same about your build...

Dang I didn’t know I still had one. Though it deleted itself after a year of non activity.

 

[MattJakobs]

Been getting my bum kicked by school so not much going on as of recently. 4Runner hasn't been driven much but I landed a decently well paying internship for this summer so I should have plenty of toy funds. Making a list of what needs to get done this summer, and some wants as well. By the end of this summer, I'd like to be at the point of nearly everything done minus gears and lockers. Hopefully I can hop on those sometime in 2019.
I just ordered rear links from CaliFab. I opted for their premium lower links with johnny joints and heavy duty lower link mounts. Pretty excited about getting those in. It should definitely beef up my current set up. As for uppers, I have an extra set laying around so I'll replace the bushings in there and beef them up a little. I don't really see the need to get an upgraded set of uppers with heims or johnny joints. From what reading I've done, they aren't really a limiting factor as much as lowers are. They're also won't see the same abuse since they're tucked up high enough that I don't have to worry about hitting them on anything.
I'll also be on the look out for new LCAs. The bushing on mine are shot and the arms have been dragged on a few rocks so I'm going to start over with them. I also plan on adding spindle gussets. A few wheeling trips ago, there was a spindle failure on a vehicle that was with us so I want to tackle this as cheap, easy reassurance.
I'll be doing a lot of miscellaneous maintenance as well. I've got a couple trips planned this summer and want the 4Runner in top top shape for the miles she'll get.

 

[Unner]

Been getting my bum kicked by school so not much going on as of recently. 4Runner hasn't been driven much but I landed a decently well paying internship for this summer so I should have plenty of toy funds. Making a list of what needs to get done this summer, and some wants as well. By the end of this summer, I'd like to be at the point of nearly everything done minus gears and lockers. Hopefully I can hop on those sometime in 2019.
I just ordered rear links from CaliFab. I opted for their premium lower links with johnny joints and heavy duty lower link mounts. Pretty excited about getting those in. It should definitely beef up my current set up. As for uppers, I have an extra set laying around so I'll replace the bushings in there and beef them up a little. I don't really see the need to get an upgraded set of uppers with heims or johnny joints. From what reading I've done, they aren't really a limiting factor as much as lowers are. They're also won't see the same abuse since they're tucked up high enough that I don't have to worry about hitting them on anything.
I'll also be on the look out for new LCAs. The bushing on mine are shot and the arms have been dragged on a few rocks so I'm going to start over with them. I also plan on adding spindle gussets. A few wheeling trips ago, there was a spindle failure on a vehicle that was with us so I want to tackle this as cheap, easy reassurance.
I'll be doing a lot of miscellaneous maintenance as well. I've got a couple trips planned this summer and want the 4Runner in top top shape for the miles she'll get.

Congrats on the internship.

I've been thinking about gusseting the spindles as well. I don't know if you have to pull the spindle or wheel bearing to do them though. I haven't looked into it that much.

Where are you planning on going this summer?

Congrats on the internship